Remote work, skill upgrading, and wage inequality post-COVID

This paper examines how the widespread shift to remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped skill development and wage inequality across occupations in the United States. Using a difference-in-differences framework and data from the Current Population Survey (CPS), American Time Use Survey (ATUS), and O*NET, we compare outcomes for remote-capable and non-remote occupations before and after the pandemic. Results show that remote-capable jobs experienced significantly higher wage growth – approximately 4–5 percent – relative to non-remote jobs, even after accounting for worker and occupational characteristics. These occupations also displayed greater gains in educational attainment and digital skill engagement, while non-remote occupations faced disruptions in access to training. The findings align with human-capital and task-based theories, suggesting that remote work intensified skill-biased technological inequality. Policy implications include the need for targeted workforce training, equitable digital infrastructure investment, and institutional support for workers in less adaptable roles. The study contributes to understanding how technological and organizational change reshape human capital formation and wage structures in the post-pandemic labor market.